First of all, there are a few prevailing medical myths that we have to deconstruct. Analysis of the studies used to indict fat as bad have revealed the faulty reasoning and bad science that went into the wrong thinking. We now are stuck with the fault “lipid hypothesis” which basically states that a diet high in saturated fats causes elevated blood cholesterol. Today, study after study shows that this is just not true. We now find that the healthiest people in the world use a cuisine based on eating good natural animal fats! These people have virtually no heart attacks nor build up of plaque in their arteries.

In a nutshell, we find that when the USA converted over to a hydrogenated vegetable oil cooking base right after WWII, we then began the descent into what we have now with cardiovascular disease being the number one killer of American people.

Entire cultures that eat a high saturated fat diet like the Masai, the cattle herders of Kenya or the blubber-eating Innuits have extremely healthy blood lipid profiles. New studies from Sweden even show a negative association with butterfat and cardiovascular disease. In other words, butter actually protects us from cardiovascular disease and even against heart attacks.

Almost everything the average in-the-box doctor now believes to be true about fat was never true about fat was never true and, to ever get our health back, this thinking must now evolve.

Secondly, we now know that high cholesterol does not cause heart disease.

This is especially true for women. In fact, women with cholesterol levels in the upper range, even as high as 1000 mg/dl, are healthier and will live longer. It’s low cholesterol that is dangerous and women with low levels have a death rate five times higher.

We must also explode the myth that eating high fat foods increases cholesterol levels. There is just plain no connection. Earlier studies were either conducted poorly or misconstrued.

In fact, when fat in diet is restricted, the “good” cholesterol, HDL goes down. When a super high fat diet is consumed not only does the HDL level return to healthy levels but we also note there is no increase in the so-called “bad” cholesterol, LDL.

Lastly, we need to get beyond the erroneous notion that cholesterol causes plaque build-up I the arteries. These myths die hard because so many medical practices and so many pharmaceutical companies depend on perpetuation of the bad science that led to this.

The medical community doesn’t bat an eye at the big picture presented when all of America is taking statins at $4 a day, gobbling up tens of billions of dollars a year that we don’t need to spend! How could a medical person even stomach the preposterous notion that an entire nation all of a sudden needs to be on a powerful drug?

We also have the massively rich lobbies promoting the use of vegetable oils that stand to lose greatly if the truth ever comes out. In their defense, medical doctors do have a hard time selling “clean living” such as getting exercise, quitting smoking, losing weight and stress management. It’s not hard to understand why they almost prefer saying, “here, just take these pills.”

THE REAL FACTS ABOUT SATURATED FATS

Saturated fatty acids make up over half of the cell membrane of every cell in the body.

We need at least 50% of our dietary fats to be saturated otherwise we can’t get calcium into our bones.

They actually lower lipoprotein-1, a substance that is now known to be the best marker of risk to heart disease.

They protect our liver from alcohol and other toxins such as Tylenol.

They enhance our immune system.

They enable us to utilize the essential fatty acids such as omega-3 fat.

These fats are the preferred food of the heart muscle itself, giving this vital organ reserves of energy during times of stress.

Specific fats have important antimicrobial properties and protect us from harmful organisms in the digestive tract.

When arteries are clogged it’s only 26% saturated fat, over half is polyunsaturated.

CHOLESTEROL IS YOUR FRIENDThis powerful and quite healthful substance is only found in animal tissue and is made by the liver and most mammalian cells in the body. It is not a fat, but technically an alcohol.

It is used in the human body for many things, not the least of which is as a “road patch’ when arteries become damaged. Whether damaged from free radicals, smoking, viruses, too much dietary sugar mineral or vitamin deficiencies, or even from not drinking enough water, the cholesterol steps in to coat the irritated and weak lining of the arteries which protects us from aneurism or stroke.

The only truly dangerous dietary cholesterol is that which has gotten “oxidized” through such things as being highly heated as with frying or pasteurization or excessive exposure to oxygen.

People with high blood levels of cholesterol usually have too many free radicals coming into their body or they have a poorly functioning thyroid. The cholesterol comes to help but it is attacked and blamed for the problem that it has come to help cure!

It’s like blaming the fire trucks for causing the fired that called them in!

Here are some cholesterol facts:

Cholesterol gives shaped and structure to every cell membrane.

All of our hormones and stress hormones are made using cholesterol as the base.

It is a precursor to all vitamin D, an essential fat-soluble vitamin critical for heathy bones, proper growth, mineral metabolism, reproduction, immune function and our brain.

Bile salt, which helps us digest food and especially fats, is made from cholesterol.

It is the #1 antioxidant in the body! Protecting us from free radicals and other agents of degeneration, cancer and aging.

We need it for our serotonin receptors in the brain, the “feel good” neurotransmitter, when cholesterol levels are low there are aggressive, violent, and suicidal tendencies along with depression.

Mother’s milk is rich in cholesterol; babies and children need it throughout their growing years to properly develop the brain and nervous system.

THE TRUE ENEMIES IN DIETARY FATMost Extracted OilTo acquire the oil in seeds and nuts some sort of pressure must be applied. In the old days it was removed using huge stones which caused it to slowly drip out.

Today, industrial factories torture the seeds with massive heat and pressure, and then they extract the last few drops using toxic solvents that are mixed with the crushed residue. Mean while ultraviolet light and oxygen ravage the integrity of the oil.

Just about all of the antioxidants, essential fatty acids, vitamin E and other protectors are destroyed so cancer-causing BHT and BHA are sprayed into the brew to prevent a complete loss. Extra virgin olive oil is an exception to this proves, ti si still gently pressed although it must be stored in opaque containers at a cool temperature to maintain purity.

Hydrogenated FatsThese fats, which began as liquid at room temperature, are usually manufactured from the cheapest oils, soy, corn, cottonseed or canola (already rancid from extraction).

They are violently subjected to extreme heat and pressure, mixed with nickel particles, soaped, steamed and hydrogen gassed, then colored or dyed until they become the solids oils we know most commonly as margarine or shortening. These become substances that are never found in nature but which accumulate in the body.

Trans FatsThese are the man-made partially-hydrogenated fats that have now become one of the most dangerous components of the Western diet. The body has zero need for them and they are health hazards at any level. There is no safe amount.

Unfortunately, our body cannot recognize these fake fats and they get woven into cell membranes of the body as if they were normal fats. They are never normal. The disease pathologies that result include cancer, hardening of the arteries, elevated blood cholesterol, immune paralysis, diabetes, obesity, birth defects, sterility, and bone and joint problems.

Homogenized FatsOne the natural and creamy fat is shot through tiny pores under great pressure it becomes dangerously oxidized and more prone to rancidity. These unnatural particles become attached to shattered milk casein particles becoming allergy makers. These fats are also thought to contribute to heart disease.

THE GOOD NEWSWhat you have read pretty much sums up the bad news about some fats. However, there is incredible good news about friendly fats, especially regarding the incredibly delicious and healing saturated fats that are quite plentiful, affordable and delicious!

The “politically-correct diet dictocrats,” as Sally Fallon calls them, have smeared the reputation of most of these natural and traditional fats that used to keep us healthy and satisfied, but, it’s time to bring them back!

We have run out of room for this article, so it will be what we will discuss next time as you get what the late Paul Harvey called “the rest of the story.”